The delegation of U.S. diplomats, led by Ass’t. Sec. of State Tom Shannon, began meetings yesterday in Tegucigalpa, visiting with both ousted president Mel Zelaya and the country’s de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti. The AP writes that Shannon—accompanied by his deputy, Craig Kelly, NSC adviser Dan Restrepo, and U.S. Amb. Hugo Llorens—strongly encouraged “flexibility” from sides. In Honduras’s Tiempo, various Honduran analysts suggested that the high profile U.S. delegation represents the first arrival of individuals with “real power in their country and the world” to deal with the Honduran crisis. DOS spokesman, Ian Kelly, meanwhile, said Sec. of State Hillary Clinton now “believes that the United States could play a constructive role now to encourage all sides to return to the negotiating table.” But after meeting with the Shannon team, Mel Zelaya remarked that the U.S. had not changed its position on his own restoration as president. “Shannon expressed his desire for an agreement as soon as possible ... on my reinstatement,” Zelaya told the press from within the Brazilian embassy. Additionally, Honduran papers report that it’s been proposed by Micheletti negotiators that talks restart tomorrow at 10am.
Apart from meeting with the group of U.S. diplomats in town, the Micheletti regime spent part of Tuesday also formalizing a complaint against the Brazilian government in the International Court of Justice for the country’s sheltering of Mr. Zelaya. Micheletti’s foreign minister has argued that Brazil is violating its diplomatic status and “could seek unspecified compensation for alleged damages to the Honduran state.”
In other Honduras-related news, new actions were taken in the U.S. Congress connected to the ongoing crisis. First, SFRC chairman, John Kerry, and House International Affairs Committee chair, Howard Berman, have submitted a letter to the Law Library of Congress, requesting that a flawed report, published in August on the legality of Mr. Zelaya’s June ouster, be retracted. The two say the report “has contributed to the political crisis that still wracks” the country and “contains factual errors and is based on a flawed legal analysis that has been refuted by experts from the United States, the Organization of American States and Honduras.” The pro-Micheletti Florida congresswoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has already said she plans to write a counter to the chairmen’s letter. A group of conservative Republicans, led by congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL), are also petitioning the GAO to produce a comprehensive report on the United States’ involvement in the Honduran crisis. Responding to the request, WOLA’s Vicki Gass called the action part of a “witch hunt.” And in Honduras itself, there are new reports of violence, perhaps linked to rising tensions between pro and anti-Micheletti factions. On Tuesday the father of the current vice minister of defense, Gabo Jalil, was kidnapped, the third such suspicious act against someone linked to the coup regime in the past week.
Around the region this morning:
· The New York Times writes on Chile and its popular President Michele Bachelet. “With only five months until she leaves office, Ms. Bachelet is increasingly likely to be remembered as one of her country’s most popular leaders. Polls this month show her public approval to be above 70 percent, and in recent weeks she has recorded the highest levels since Chile went from dictatorship to democracy in 1990.”
· The Wall Street Journal reports on new legislation proposed by Argentine President Cristina Kirchner to reform the Argentine political system. According to the WSJ, “The bill would force all political parties to hold open primaries and would ban private campaign financing. It would also require political parties to have a minimum number of members, which would likely reduce the number of parties in the country…While supporters said the legislation would modernize the political system, critics said the government is simply rewriting the rules to tighten its grip on power ahead of a 2011 presidential election.”
· The AP writes that there will be no congressional debate in Nicaragua over a controversial Supreme Court ruling that ended term limits last week. In a party-line vote, the country’s Sandinista-led National Assembly rejected debate on the matter. U.S. Amb. to Nicaragua, Robert Callahan, joined his voice with those criticizing the re-election ruling, saying it was made improperly and “threatened to undermine the foundations of Nicaragua's democracy.”
· The Miami Herald continues following developments in Haiti, this morning reporting that Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis is expected to be replaced very shortly. Reports indicate that President Rene Preval has already, in fact, selected Ms. Pierre-Louis’s replacement: Jean-Max Bellerive, the current minister of Planning and External Cooperation.
· At the UN, the ritual vote condemning the U.S. embargo on Cuba occurred Wednesday. This time the General Assembly voted 187 to 3 (U.S., Israel, and Palau) against the embargo. Two countries abstained.
· Along the Venezuela-Colombia border, the discovery of two new massacres could raise the total number killed in the area over the last two weeks. On Saturday, the bodies of two men were found in the Colombian town of Arauquita, near the border with Venezuela. On the other side of the border, in the Venezuelan state of Apure, two more bodies were also found, occurring at the same time and under the same circumstances, according to initial reports.
· Bloggings by Boz has an interesting breakdown of what exactly the House Subcommittee for the Western Hemisphere has been up to over the last 32 months. See his full breakdown of subcommittee hearings and what they might reveal about House concerns vis a vis Latin America.
· And finally, Washington Post columnist George Will writes on U.S. drug policy and his recent discussions with new drug czar Gil Kerlikowske.
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